Christian Living

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For Best Results Follow Instructions

I Kings 18:43 says and Elijah said unto Ahab, get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, said to his servants, go up now and look toward the sea, and they returned and said, there is nothing, and he said, go again seven times and it came to pass on the seventh time that he said behold, there is arising a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand; and he said, go up, say unto Ahab, prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.

Kings contains an account of Israel’s spiritual conduct as God’s covenant people. Their deeds are portrayed especially those of the kings, prophets and priests. Their deeds were not as spiritually faithful and pure as God had called them to be. Their standards weren’t kept as God had commanded them. They repeatedly failed God spiritually, committed spiritual whoredom, neglected the commandments God set forth and just utterly refused to obey the men of God, the true prophets.

Israel’s spiritual disobedience repeatedly exposed them to political threats. In our text here Elijah has received of God and is relaying instructions to his servant; specific instructions. This being after he himself had humbled himself before the Lord. You can’t receive anything from God if you are not humbled in his sight.

Change your position, your posture to one that reverences God.

He said:
1. Get thee up, get thee up, arise. Arise means to get up, to move upward, ascend, to come into being, originate. To result, issue or proceed. The first thing he had to do was simply obey instructions to get any result.
2. Then he said go up now
3. He told them to look toward the sea. Sometime you have the vision, but you can’t see clear until all the pieces are there. Sometime you’ve got to go back and look a second, third, or even more times.

In our text the servant had to go seven times, but his results came only after he had followed the instructions given him by obeying the man of God. God could have moved the first time, because he is God and can do whatever he please, but the significance here is to obey and follow through all the instructions.

When he obeyed and looked the seventh time something happened, things changed, conditions changed. With obedience, comes results, change. God did something in the atmosphere that gave them what they needed.

Your blessing is in the atmosphere and all you need is for God to shake it up. But you must first obey God and all he has commanded you to do. For best results follow instructions specifically. God rained the rain down from heaven and he does it for us also when we line up with all of his word. He will give us a glimpse of hope, but how we see the end of a thing is determined by our flight in the storm. How we go through the storm determine our outcome of the storm. God speaks to us so many times. In his word, to our minds, through his servants, but do we follow what he said or do we do what we want to do.

God gives us guidelines for living. He gives us guidelines for living a prosperous life. He said in III John 2, beloved I wish above all things that thou may prosper, and be in health even as thy soul prosper, meaning in all respects, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

He tells us to be holy. In Leviticus 11:44 we are to reverence him as Lord, sanctify yourself, and ye shall be holy. He said for you to do this, he’s not going to make you do anything. Your blessing is in how well you obey.

He told you to separate yourself from the ways of the world; from any ungodly thing is sin. You purge yourself, clean up your life, and take a spiritual laxative. Cleanse your intestinal wit.

God said to bring all the tithe into the storehouse, Malachi 3:10 says you bring it. He doesn’t hold a gun to no one’s head, and he doesn’t make you do nothing. It’s your choice. You do the investigating, you do the discussion and reasoning within yourself, do I want all of what God has for me or not. If you are foolish and disobey, you suffer the consequences. The consequences are to be cursed upon a curse. You reasoned and you made a choice.

My purpose is to deliver unto you rebuke, to reprove you, to correct you, and to instruct you, but the choice is yours to obey. God calls you to repent but it’s up to you. All the promises in the book are yours, yet it’s up to you to receive them. God wants to bless you in spite of what you have done if you would turn.

II Chronicles 7:14 repeats God’s covenant promise with Solomon and to us today. For best results follow instructions. Solomon had finished the House of the Lord and everything that came to his heart to make in the House of the Lord and his own house he prosperously effected, he did.


God appeared to him by night as he had done in I Kings 3:5, I Kings 9:2, I Kings 6:11-13 and told him he had heard his prayers.

How many times do we go before God on behalf of others and ourselves and yet God don’t move then, but he gives us instructions to obey. God wants us to obey. If you love me keep my commandments. Many has a strong will not to obey God, but they get tired of chastisement, and won’t change. Change only comes when you make a change. You make the difference. Everything, your blessings or your cursing hinges on your door, the door to your heart, a heart that will obey.
Solomon received instructions from God, exhorting the people to humble themselves and pray, seek God’s face, turn from their wicked ways, then will God hear from heaven and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

In the scripture II Chronicles 7:14 specific instructions are given for their land to be healed:

1. Humble themselves, lower your curtain, destroy the pride, come meekly, lowly, stop pretending, show your humility
2. Pray, to utter, make a fervent request, plead, beg, to ask imploringly. Luke 18:1 says man ought to always pray
3. Seek, to try to locate or discover, search for. Isaiah 55:6 says we should seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near
4. Turn, rotate, revolve, move to obtain a desired result, change your position, alter, to reverse and renew, change your direction. To become godly sorry and repent
5. Hear, to perceive sound by the ear, to listen attentively, give consideration to, to be informed, learn. The day you hear the Lord’s voice harden not your heart
6. Forgive, to excuse for a fault or offense, to pardon, to renounce anger or resentment against, condone, pass over an offense and free the offender from the consequences. The Bible says we should forgive even as we desire to be forgiven
7. Heal, to restore to health, cure, to set right, amend, to rid of sin, to become whole and sound. God wants us to be whole, our mind, soul, body and spirit, or entire being, being whole.

All these add up in a formula of God’s prosperous righteous blessings, that you and only you have in your control. But it all hinges upon you, your willingness to follow after God and obey.

For best results follow instructions:

If God say pray, pray
If God say no, let it be no
If God say come, come
If God say go, then go
If God says read, read
If God say live holy, live holy
If God say repent, then repent

Whatever he says in his word, do that. Know what the word says. It is your responsibility. You are accountable unto man and God for your actions. Your actions you choose will take you down a road of peace or war, it will take you to heaven or hell. It’s your choice, choose you this day if you will obey and whom you will obey. Obey and live, disobey and die. For best results follow instructions.

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